[Sca-cooks] Danelaw feast

[a5foil]

Hagen says "The spices Bede left to his brethren are said to have included
... cardamom ('grains of paradise' so called because they were believed to
float down the Nile from the earthly paradise) ..." This presents three
problems. One is that Bede's list isn't necessarily a true picture of the
availability of spices even in his own time. As a high-ranking churchman he
might have received a gift of exotic spices that would not have been
available through general trade. (And yes, a King could have received a
similar gift, but I can bet you he would have reserved it for a high-table
delicacy!) The second that the translator may or may not have got the word
in the original text matched to the correct spice as we know it today, even
discounting the confusion between cardamom and grains. And the third is that
Bede, in 735, may have had access to spices that were no longer available in
975.

When I cook early-period feasts, I try to stick to seasonings that would be
locally grown and therefore in common use -- a variety of herbs plus
coriander and cumin seed. I do use pepper, which seems to have been
available through trade, but I don't use much -- a couple of teaspoons is
more than enough for a feast for 80.

Rosewater is one of those things for which there would be no archaeological
evidence. Hagen mentions roses as possibly used "in composite dishes" and
(in the section on beverages) "traditionally ... used to make teas and
flower waters." If I were going to use roses in an early-period English
dish, I would use the petals as a garnish.

Cynara